Ardiles hopes for change in England

28 Jun 2013 10:16:56

Former Tottenham midfielder Ossie Ardiles says English football is in a "bad state" and must embrace revolutionary changes.

Ardiles, part of Argentina's 1978 World Cup-winning squad, believes England's shortcomings on the biggest stage will continue for as long as the country persists with a top league that promotes foreign stars ahead of home-grown talent.

"England is in a bad state. You are not going to win the World Cup for 20 or 30 years," the 60-year-old said. "You have the best league in the world but it is because you have players from all over the world. There are no home-grown players and there is little chance of them coming through. You need a revolution."

Ardiles believes much of the problem lies with grassroots coaching methods.

He said: "It is because what they are teaching the young is not right. It is a big emphasis on winning, being tough, jumping, being an athlete, strong, fit and quick. But it should not be like that. The number one thing is England should be striving to have 11 masters of the ball.

"There are certain players right now, I won't name names, in the national team of England, the control they have of the ball is quite poor. It is quite embarrassing, really. And they are playing for England."

The division of powers between the Football Association and the Premier League is another area of concern for Ardiles.

"This is part of the problem in England," he said. "Here you have the FA and the Football League and the Premier League.

"In any other country it is one entity - the Argentinian FA, the Brazilian FA, the French FA. They dictate what happens in their Premier League and what happens in their national team.

"Here the Premier League has nothing to do with the national team so the interests are completely different and that is a big thing."